The Economics of Ecolabelling - SEAFOOD Ecolabelling: Principles and Practice - page 47

perceive a personal health benefit from those goods. Thus, while the consumers
surveyed in the analyses above indicated a willingness to purchase ecolabelled
seafood - once prompted with the choices - there is no major grassroots campaign
among consumers to demand sustainable seafood from either sustainable fisheries
or sustainable aquaculture production. Environmental groups have led the charge to
educate consumers about the issues of producing seafood in a sustainable manner
(see below, and Chapters 16-19), hoping that eventually enough environmentally
aware consumers will become a major force within the market. That time has
probably not yet arrived.
Much of what is currently driving global sales of MSC-ecolabelled seafood may
be the efforts of the processors such as Young's Seafood in UK (see Box 2.1 and
Box 2.2); Frosta in Germany and Unilever globally; retailers such as Whole Foods
Market and Wal-Mart in the US; Marks & Spencers, Waitrose and Sainsbury's in
UK; and Migros in Switzerland - among many others - to procure sustainable
seafood. So in the absence of consumer demand for ecolabelled seafoods, what
then are the economics behind their corporate decisions?
Box 2.1 Fish for Life: Sustainable Fisheries
Young's has been supplying fish and seafood for over 200 years, and so we
believe it is our duty to make an active contribution towards long-term seafood
sustainability. Sustainable practice is the only way to safeguard the future of this
important global food resource.
Our commitment
All our fish purchases are made only with clear understanding of the capacity of
the environment to support the fishing or fish farming effort involved. We work
actively with our supplier network to initiate and support projects, policies and
actions which make a valid contribution to long-term sustainability.
Young's Fish for Life
We call our sustainable seafood approach 'Young's Fish for Life' (FFL). This
comprises our seafood sustainability position and our behaviour. Key to Fish for
Life are our 'Ten Principles for Responsible Fish Procurement' - which govern
the way we buy all our fish, both wild-caught and farmed. Ten Principles is
underpinned by our own unique fisheries assessment process.
Fish for Life drives us to be actively engaged with many highly specific
fisheries and aquaculture issues. Our most up-to-date policies and positionings
on these can be found on our policies pages.
NB: Fish for Life has been independently audited and verified as a robust and
valid approach by the respected independent consultancy, Bodycote Lawlabs.